Shot a heavy 10pt w/.308. Not what I expected result.

The gun is a .308 SPS Tactical w/20" bbl. Bullet was handloaded 168gr A-Max. I had a decent 10pt @ my feeder 100yds. away. I got my crosshairs on him. He jumped out of the pen & trotted straight towards me ending up about 20yds away. Then he stopped, turned 1/4ing towards me & I shot. Bullet went in front left shoulder. His front left shoulder & first few left ribs were way broke & lungs were mush. Now this is what I don't understand. The entry hole was the size of the bullet (not surprised) but the bullet only made it to the left lung. It exploded on the entry shoulder & just bullet frags made it to the entry side lung. No exit, not even close. Not a single drop of blood anywhere. He ran about 60yds & piled up. Even where he died there was only a few drops of blood & they came out of his mouth. Did this happen because he was so close? I had no intentions of shooting a deer @ 20yds but that's the only shot he gave me! I have been told by several people not to hunt w/A-Max & been told by other not to worry & it works great. Now I'm not so sure I should have but am thinking it only happened because the distance was so short. If he'd of ran any other directions I might not have found him due to how thick it is & there was absolutely not a single drop of blood.

Tsx or ttsx no more issues

How fast are you shooting the amax.

Walter

distance may have played a factor. the A-max is not a hunting bullet for starters.

that combined with the distance you shot it at made the bullet come apart.

a ballistic tip bullet would probably yield the same results at that range.

stop using the A-max and use a reg. hunting bullet and you'll be fine.

I am not a fan of the TSX, they don't expand good at .308 velocities unless you go light and then if you don't hit bone expect a long tracking job.

Some bullets aren't ideal for quartering shots. I mostly hunt with Ballistic Tips and I will do my best to avoid a quartering shot. Had bad results with a couple of deer over the years. I collected them all, but like you I had no exit wound. Shoot em through the lungs and you'll do fine. Or, switch bullets. BMD's suggestion is a good one, though a Sierra Game King would probably be all the bullet you'll really need, and it's much cheaper than the Barnes bullets, and very accurate. And there's always the dependable Nosler Partition. Those rascals will penetrate. I sent one in 223 through a pretty good sized pig and I sent it 'long ways', starting at the tail. That impressed me.

Sounds like what a lot of folks would call bullet failure, but "bullet failure" means different things to different people.

I was NOT failure because the deer took a dirt nap.

It WAS failure because the bullet did not perform in the way you expected.

Everyone will have his own take on it. Mine is very conventional---I think a bullet should expand, penetrate, and exit retaining as much of its original weight as possible.

A-max is the problem. They are great for Targets and will get the job done as it did but not really the best option. Kinda similar to shooting an animal with a Match King. It will work if done right just not really built for the purpose.

Get some Game Kings and call it a day.

I've shot axis with 168 Amax and it worked fine . Chad I believe has used the round on a few animals . It's not the best hunting round but it works .

At 20 yards I would have neck shot him and dropped him right there . Would have at 100 too . I don't like to have to track em .

Bullet did exactly what's its designed todo. VLD would of done same thing also

Very weak bullet (just like ballistic tips) at very close range hitting bone spells disaster. Ballistic tips and amax are great behind the shoulder broadside at reasonable velocity, but hitting bone with them is rarely going to get a pass through. Just my experience

I shot the same gun using the exact same bullets for the last 3 years and took about 18 animals. There is nothing wrong with the bullet. You are hearing opinions because of the story you posted.
You took a less than desirable shot and angle but the end result is a dead deer. I don't believe you have given the bullet a chance before creating doubt. Take some good shots and come back and tell us your opinion.

Just wanted repeat what everyone else has been saying. "Match" bullets, Like the A-max, have a thin jacket. Its easier to get a uniform, thin jacket than a thick one. This makes the bullet very soft. Hitting bone can cause the bullet to break apart, which leads to short penetration.

A hunting bullet has a thicker bullet which will hold together more for better penetration. Bullets for larger game are either bonded or are a solid copper round (barnes) for even better penetration/weight retention. Not usually needed on thin skinned animals like deer.

The wounds can be quite impressive, but usually much less penetration that a "hunting" bullet. Lots of people use them, and the work, but you need to understand the bullet you are using. If you plan on punching through the shoulder, you should use another bullet. If you want to hit a broadside or quartering away shot behind the should, it will perform amazingly well if you hit the vitals.

Is it possible that the bullet exploded inside of the deer and a fragment penetrated the heart?
I have seen multiple heart shots with no blood trail. The heart simply quits and it cannot pump blood. Thus no blood trail, or just a very few drops.
Heck I shot a doe last weekend with my crossbow, perfect behind the shoulder pass through, but missed the heart. She went 60 yards without bleeding then bled for about ten yards before I found her.
Sometimes they just respond differently than expected.

I've always used chads reloads , 168 Amax .... And have had no reason to change . It's killed everything that was hit with it . If I get a chance to rifle hunt this year ill be using my savage and some amax's

I'd expect the chest cavity needed to fill up with blood before spilling out.

Impact velocity was to high, that bullet is not made to penetrate anything but paper, if you want a good match hunting bullet for the 308 go with the 165gr sierra game king that's all I shoot in my 3 308 wins and have killed everything from javelina to elk with perfect results

Agree on the 165gr Sierra Game King, great weight in .308.

:BS: Run em light for caliber and do your part and no issue.

I've shot four pigs with an A-Max bullet and have not been impressed. It's SGKs for me.

I've heard nothing but good things about the tsx... I myself have never shot them but I have had good experiences with sst's and right now I'm loving my 180gr trophy bonded tips out of my acc sd, I'm not sure if they make them in lighter grains though

My BIL had the same results from a few Amax's in his 7mag. I'll echo the same views above; the Amax is a target bullet, not designed with hunting in mind. A Game King at that range might have yielded similar results, but I'll speculate, based on experience with them, that the deer wouldn't have made it as far as it did. And somewhere in the deer, you would have found a sizable hunk of jacket and lead.

Accubonds are great too. I'm not drinking the Barnes koolaide yet, but certainly can't argue with all the positive reports I see here and elsewhere.

1st off, Hornady says the A-max is also a medium game bullet. I posted proof of that before. 2nd, SGK's were my first choice of bullet but my gun doesn't shoot 165gr SGK worth a crap. This was 1 of Chad's reloads so FPS out of my gun is about 2,620fps. Deer may have been only 15yds away so bullet was really shaggin' @ impact. It may have clipped the heart but the left lung came pouring out in jello form when I skinned him so I know it was liquified. My intentions were for a broadside lung shot but it didn't play out like I planned. I'd of shot him in the neck but my scope was still on x16 because he was looking right @ me all the way from the feeder & I couldn't get it turned down w/out him noticing, I tried. After he turned broadside he started trotting off so I shot him on the move & didn't feel I could be precise enough for a neck shot w/scope on x16 w/him trotting @ only 20yds. I had to pic a spot I thought would anchor him AND not gut shoot him which was difficult w/how hard he was quartered towards me. It made it thru the shoulder and several ribs into the chest cavity but were only talking maybe 4" deep. So is A-Max only good if NO bone is hit?

psycho0819, all the Accubonds I've shot deer & hogs w/have punched right thru w/very, very minimal blood trail. All resulted in dead recovered animals but none DRT & tracking(from 45-85yds.) was difficult.

My best results in .308 so far have been with 150 grain Sierra ProHunters and 165 grain Sierra Game Kings. YMMV

Try the ProHunters.

I've seen similar results with BT'S, Game Kings and SST's. Stay away from heavy bone and your results will be a lot better.

Stick with a quality soft point bullet. AMax are target loads, regardless of the load behind it.

165 Sierra Game King are my favorite, but hard to find right now. Federal's basic 150 gr soft point boattail is very good too.

If you would of had your scope turned down and hit him in the shoulder/neck crease he would of dropped. Regardless of internet stories the only way to drop a deer right there is to break his spine. Regardless of bullet construction a 168gr bullet is a big bullet for a texas weighttail, deer is dead and only went a short distance. I wouldn't loose faith in it yet. If you want passtrus you need to switch to a bonded bullet.

There are a whole lot of bullets that will do that at close range. depending on the velocities. I have seen it with the ballistic silver tips, the accubond, and most match grade bullets. still to the point the bullet did not fail. The deer is dead which means it delivered all of its energy into the deer. That is not a bad thing. just sucks if you have to trail it.

60 yards can be a long way at dusk in a wooded area with no blood trail.

I don't understand. U shot the deer w an amax an killed it. Sounds like a dead deer to me. Amax is a very versatile round and will kill as well as travel true out to 700-800 yrds (168 gr). No its not a game king but game king doesn't have the ballistic coefficient amax has.

A-MAX is designed to shoot targets not game. It has a very thin jacket. Like using a hammer to drive screws, you can get them in (A-MAX can kill), but it's not the purpose that the tool was designed for. Pretty much any 150 grain hunting bullet would be a better choice for your 100 yard feeder shot.

It sounds like to me that the bullet did fine. If a deer is quartering to you, and you hit it in the front shoulder, you impacted a lot of bone. This will deform and deflect most any lead bullet. When you get this deflection/movement, the bullet will come apart. It's turning about 200,000 rpm, and this rpm forces the bullet apart (same as an FMJ). Also, when an animal is quartering to you, you can easily double the length you would need for an exit wound. I shot a deer with a 300 Win Mag at about the same angle and the bullet didn't exit.

I've taken several deer and many pigs with the 155 A-max with an AR-10. I got several exits, but most dropped in their tracks. If I didn't get an exit but the critter dropped, was it bullet failure? I've debated the same thing with the Berger VLD's. The VLD's come apart and fragment dramatically. You will get about 12 to 20" of penetration, but the area the bullet makes contact with is total destruction. It sends bullet fragments in all directions. I shot a broadside doe at 90 yards with a 140 VLD out of a 260 Rem in the shoulder, and pulled jacket and lead fragments out of the rear hams. She dropped. So, the bullet did it's job. But for hunting and recovering the meat, I didn't like the damage and carnage it caused since I take all the meat I can. I lost some meat. So, the bullet did it's job. But from a hunting stand point, I didn't like the end result because of the meat loss. But the VLD is one of the most effective bullets for terminal performance. I think the same for the A-max. If you have good shot placement, then any A-max will work fine. I say this with great confidence from my own personal experiences, as well as my customers' experience. If you want more penetration, go to a heavier bullet, and less speed. This will give you more penetration. This is why I like the 208 A-max out of the 300 Win Mag (or similar).

I had a customer shooting a 30-378 Weatherby pushing a 208 A-max at 3200+ fps. He shot a black bear facing him at a little over 100 yards. The 208 went in the front of his chest, and the bullet was recovered under the skin in the back of the rear ham. The bullet went clean through the entire length of the bear from front to back. The bear went a very short distance. I'd say the bullet did a great job.

This game shooting with match bullets is interesting, for sure, but the question remains as to why you would elect to use a match bullet for a job it wasn't designed to do. Is it being used because it's extremely accurate? If so, just how accurate do you need to be inside of 300 or 400 yards? Pretty much any good actual hunting bullet will have all the accuracy you need. It's not like any of us are going to shoot a 5 shot group in the side of a whitetail. And, consider that a real hunting bullet just might give you a bit more room for error if you don't place the bullet in just the right spot. If you do place the bullet in the wrong spot, you absolutely want a bullet exit and a blood trail.

I said go light for caliber.

but if you go out and lung shoot a deer with a 150 grain TSX in a .308 your not going to be impressed

i disagree...amax is designed as a duel purpose bullet. are "hunting bullets" going to do more damage, probably, however dead is dead...

Where does the link below say anything about duel purpose, or match grade Hunting, and dead is not worth jack Sh@t without you being able to find your game.

http://www.hornady.com/store/A-MAX

I've had similar results with Hornady SST's. They hit bone, explode into pieces, and make mush out of the animal's vitals, with little or no exit.

If you want you can search my name and a-max. You'll find the proof that they're dual bullets. It's in their reloading book, 6th edition I believe. They changed their making process or something.

Not trolling here but it comes down to Ford, Chevy & Dodge.

If you had not located the deer because it ran off you may have figured bad shot placement or bullet performance.
You found the Deer and the bullet. Dead Deer fragmented bullet.
Call Hornady and talk to a bullet tech. May never happen again or every time.

Iv had issues with the exact opposite happening with tsx in that size bullet... but still love the rounds and that was only rare occasions

I rarely stray from Barnes when looking for hunting ammo... but i buy a lot of corelokt ammo

Why would I want to search your name we are talking about bullets. That link is from hornady's site today. Just because they changed their marketing doesn't mean the bullet is a hunting bullet, That's like ford saying that the focus was a race car now, if they didn't change the performance of the car then its still a grocery getter.

Some of y'all need to stop reading so much actually try some things to find out for yourself.
168 hornady TAP is good stuff

Yes, Hornady says they can be used for hunting. Probably because a lot of guys find them very accurate, with a high BC, and want to use them in their long range rifles. And at long range, where velocity has fallen off, they probably work, when conditions are just right.

IMO, your experience is exactly the reason the hunting bullets should be used for hunting and target bullets should be used for targets.

Varmint bullets and target bullets can work very well on deer when conditions are right. When placed broadside thru the lungs, the can be great killers.

But when a buck doesn't present you with the desired position (like your buck: closer range than expected, and only a shoulder shot option), a bullet designed with controlled expansion in mind, would have worked better.

they're good for hunting at lower velocities....ramped up, use more caution than if you were using BTs. Can't always whistle down a deer and ask them to go stand out yonder at the 400yd mark. Use caution.

Nosler Partitions for me. That's my final answer!

I like the Partitions and Speer Soft Point Boat Tails.

you shot a deer.... it died. dont understand what your worried about. I have the sacred nosler partion fail on animals and cheep sp bullets shoot right thru huge tough animals they shouldnt. at the end of the day all that maters is that what you shot died.

How would a hunting bullet have worked better. The deer was dead?

Walter

In several ways:

1) "exploded on entry shoulder": sounds like lots of unnecessary meat damage

2) "just bullet fragments made it to entry side lung": sounds like he was LUCKY that a few fragments reached a vital organ, or he could have left a wounded deer to die a lingering death.

3)"no blood trail" plus "if he had gone another direction, we might not have found him": again, the OP was lucky...

You shouldn't have to be LUCKY to kill a deer at 20 yards!

A good controlled expansion hunting bullet would likely have broken the onside shoulder, travelled thru the lungs, making soup of them, and exited out the opposite ribs, leaving a good blood trail. But the blood "trail" would be just a pool under the deer because the deer would have been dead right there. AND there would have been less meat damage.

If the only criteria for success is a dead deer, a hand grenade would suffice, and at least he would not have had to hunt for it.

Check out the link below to the detail page for their 168gr A-Max. Its says "*Match bullets are not recommended for hunting."

http://www.hornady.com/store/30-Cal-.308-168-gr-A-MAX/




That said, I have no experience with this bullet on deer so will have to go with the manufacturer's recommendation.

Nope they don't work at all. This poor fellow just died from laughter at being hit by one a few hours ago.

[/quote]
In several ways:

1) "exploded on entry shoulder": sounds like lots of unnecessary meat damage

2) "just bullet fragments made it to entry side lung": sounds like he was LUCKY that a few fragments reached a vital organ, or he could have left a wounded deer to die a lingering death.

3)"no blood trail" plus "if he had gone another direction, we might not have found him": again, the OP was lucky...

You shouldn't have to be LUCKY to kill a deer at 20 yards!

A good controlled expansion hunting bullet would likely have broken the onside shoulder, travelled thru the lungs, making soup of them, and exited out the opposite ribs, leaving a good blood trail. But the blood "trail" would be just a pool under the deer because the deer would have been dead right there. AND there would have been less meat damage.

If the only criteria for success is a dead deer, a hand grenade would suffice, and at least he would not have had to hunt for it. [/quote]

I agree that there was probably a lot of meat damage which isn't the best. Yeah a HUNTING bullet is always the best thing to use, but all the animals I have killed with so called match bullets have died just as well as the ones that I have killed with Hunting bullets. All to often I see people that slam people for hunting with match bullets that have no first hand experiences with shooting them, not saying that is the case with you. With the right shot dead is dead, and that has held true for me.

Walter

I don't think anyone said they would not work, we were just saying that they are not optimal. I have killed hundreds of deer and hogs with a 52gr amax out of a 223, but I shot everyone in the neck or head, with that said i have also lost mature deer because the bullet exploded on contact with a vertebrae and the deer ran off into the thickest south Texas brush never to be seen again.

Walter: deer are not hard to kill. And almost any bullet will work if conditions are right. As long as you are willing to accept their limitations an pass on iffy shots, which you apparently have, match bullets will work.

To me it's just common sense to use a product for the purpose that it's design engineers hand in mind when they designed it. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox. To each his own.

Completely agree. That is why I have target rifles and hunting rifles with loads for each. But sometimes, the target rifle finds it way to the stand with me pig hunting or something, or if I haven't had a chance to shoot it in a while.

Walter

Pigs, shot placement at base of the ear with a 175 SMK, and deer, base of neck at the point of the shoulder with a 178 Amax.

Wow! Lot of opinions here...



The one thing I read and agree with 100% is...dead is dead!

Nice videos!

I once threw a scrap piece of 2x8 at a raccoon in my back yard. Placement was perfect to the head and he was DRT. Just because he died, doesn't mean that 2x8 scrap wood the ideal hunting projectile, even if dead is dead.

For all of you saying it's only a target bullet:

In the reloading book on p.41 of the 6th ed., vol.1 Hornady book in their A-MAX description: "This bullet is also excellent for hunting thin-skinned game."

So put the 'only for target' argument to rest.

But we are on, what, the 9th edition now??? What does it say?

You're correct. It does say that. But as you can see from a previous post, on their website they do not recommend them for game. I had an email exchange with a Hornady tech, addressing this conundrum. Below is his reply:


"You hit the nail directly on the head! Although we do not recommend the Match bullets for hunting we know that many people use them for that with tremendous results. The issue is size of animal and shot placement, an animal shot through the ribs into the lungs will probably give instant response of dropping. However, if shot in the shoulder we know that these bullets may blow up on the outside of the animal and possibly be lost.

Even though the suggestion is indicated that these bullets are appropriate for hunting they are not engineered with any consistent degree of expansion. This is why we do not recommend them as a hunting bullet. Catch22, I suppose it is but I'm just giving you the real life truth that although they may work under perfect conditions we don't suggest you do."


Seems pretty clear. They will work under the right conditions. But deer, at least the ones I hunt, don't always cooperate. I prefer to use a bullet that works when conditions are not perfect, not one that works only when conditions are perfect.

As stated before, if you are willing to accept the limitations, you should have no problem.

That is very good & appreciated info!!! Now I need to find a very accurate .308 round that my gun likes(it does not like Chad's 165gr SGK but might like factory loaded SGK, haven't tried it yet). Besides the extremely high priced TSX/TTSX, any suggestions?

Do you reload, or are you looking for factory loads?

I would say the 165gr Hornady BTSP would be a good choice.

Having a similar situation as yours a couple of years ago I had a big buck that ended up tipping the scale at 210lbs come in and stop slightly quartering to me at 40yds.

I hit him directly in the shoulder with a 140gr. Hornady BTSP(.270win) and he dropped right there; while the bullet didn't penetrate the opposite side - It did penetrate the shoulder blade just fine and continue on to completely destroy the heart & lungs.

At longer ranges, pass throughs are common and expansion is great even at longer ranges.

Accubond or Accubond LR or scirocco or interbond. I'm a ttsx fan but don't know if the 308 is hot enough for it.

Bullets similar to amax- vld, nosler bt, sst, GK, corelokt, hornady spitzer/spirepoint. <---- cup and core bullets non bonded

If you are wanting to hunt with match grade bullets, go with VLD Hunting projectiles.

That close head or neck or spine. Hornady will blow up in fast rifles ect. Spend $34 and a little on the Barnes Manual and clean your weapon really well. It would have done the same with a Nosler Ballistic Tip. I quit all of them except for Varmits or Hogs when I got tired of tracking wounded animals years ago. I shot a Hill Country Doe opening day at about 250 yds with my .308 and 150 gr TTSX. Only shot I had was about 4 inches of her back above the Blue Stem. It went thru top shoulder completely thru the animal and out between the hams. Everything was mush, no liver, stomach or lungs and her heart was flat. I shot a buck at the same place years ago with a 200 gr 338 Win Mag about as close as yours. He ran twice, finally shot him in the head with a 38 pistol.

I don't reload so my options are limited. Looking @ 165gr Accubond & Interbonds.

I'd start with the nosler ammo if that doesn't shoot well try hornady ammo. Big fan of noslers ammo, very consitant

I wouldnt want a pass thru on a deer. I want all of the energy of the round to be put into the animal. I don't want energy to be wasted out the opposite side of the target. And while the amax is designed as a target round it is actually a pretty good hunting round. I use match bullets in all my rifles and have no problem hunting with them.

The ONLY reason I want pass thru is tracking. BUT if I use a bullet like A-max it's a heart/lung shot. If it's a bonded bullet it's high shoulder, which won't be a pass thru but will anchor them. This particular deer had zero use of his front left leg/shoulder but did a hell of a job shaggin' off on only 3 limbs!

A few years back, I had just bought a new rifle in .270wsm for deer hunting. Not being very knowledgeable about different bullets I opted for the Winchester ballistic silver tips in 140gr. I normally aim right behind the shoulder, so as no to damage the meat. I shot two different bucks, both broadside double lung shots, at just under a hundred yards. Both bucks were shot just before dark. I never found any blood, and thought maybe I missed, even checked my zero to see if it was on. Found both bucks within a hundred yards of the shot, and the bullets never exited, found just under the hide on the opposite side. It really never occurred to me that the bullet wouldn't exit on a chest shot. I don't shoot ballistic tips anymore.

Ballistic Tips are pretty much all I use. A couple hundred deer later, I'm still using them. Most were 130 gr in the 270 and most recently 120 grainers in the 260. I shoot em in the lungs and avoid quartering shots.

I know the ballistic tips are lethal, but I had never experienced a chest shot that didn't exit, and I had two back to back. Without an exit it is really tough to track a hit deer, especially in the dark. I remember doing some research on the net about the cartridge, and learned that others were having similar problems around a hundred yards, something to do with high velocities. I'm glad you are enjoying good success with them.

The ballistic tips are put on every kind of bullet now adays. Bullet construction is more important than whether this is a tiny plastic tip at the end.

"Ballistic Tip" is a trade name for a specific bullet and has to do with the design of the overall bullet, not just the plastic tip.

Correct. The "Ballistic Tip" is the product name for a line of Nosler bullets. Many other bullet mfg make a plastic tip bullets, but they are not "ballistic tips". I hear this all the time.

AMAX is a simple cup & core bullet that is made for target shooting. It's thin skinned and not made to hold together at high impact velocities.

The short answer is YES, that happened because you were so close - but it also happened because the bullet selection was inappropriate for the task.

Some people like AMAX for hunting beyond MPBR because a lot of bores seem to like it and it will still expand/fragment below 2200 fps. It's not good for stand hunting with and chipshot distances, though.

Yep, that's what I read after using them in my .270wsm. I shot a nice buck last weekend with a .30-06 180gr Federal Vital Shock at about 60 yards and the blood trail was more like a path.

Interesing, I didn't know "Ballistic Tip" was a registered trademark but it looks like Nosler has several different Ballistic Tip bullet lines. A least one of them is a "hunting" round made for deer.

http://www.nosler.com/ballistic-tip/

The hunting version of the Ballistic Tip has a heavier jacket than the varmint version of the bullet. Once they were the same, with both having the lighter thinner jacket, but some years back they toughened up the hunting bullet - for obvious reasons. I've been shooting them ever since Nosler quit making the Solid Base Boattails - which were a great bullet but maybe not quite as accurate. I get great performance out of the Ballistic Tip and always have, even when they had the lighter jacket.

Note that the bullet boxes now are labeled as to use, saying Varmint or Hunting.

I don't count on blood trails because my deer drop. Im hearing way to many stories of larger calibers and bullets having to trail a deer.

Have had exact same results with the a max. Extremely accurate but twice recently where I hit a pig in the shoulder and it looked like someone stuck a small grenade on his shoulder and lit it. 6 in hole but zero penatration. Thought the pig was dead and finished my hunt. Pig layed there for an hr not moving or making any noise. Shot another one in the head no prob went to go get them and the first still alive. Bullet exploded on the shoulder no vitals wounded. Same thing with a javelina. Switched to 168 Sierra game king still shoot quarter in groups at a hundred. Excellent penetration and stopping power. A max is one of most accurate loads on paper but have lost confidence with it as a hunting round.

I'm the same way. I shoot deer in the neck so they drop and a I don't have to rely on a blood trail. I usually use a 223 or 220 swift with match hollow point ammo and have yet to have any issues with deer.

To each his own! I shoot a 300 Mag Sendero with hand loaded Barnes TTSX 180gr they hit like Thor's hammer - I've never had to track one yet..

I rarely have bucks DRT bc I'm not much of a shoulder shooter. 223-300wm, they'll run.

Right on point!

Ive killed 2 deer this year with your exact setup. I was pushing it with 42.5grains of varget. Both had the sane entry but had a through and through with a large exit. It made a soup of the lungs. Shot a pig that entered in the head with no exit. All shots were in between 120-230yrds. And nothing went more then 30-40yrds.

Barnes X will hold together, penetrate and kill cleanly every time if we do our job. I have shot about all of the major mfg products. I also like Sierra and punch mostly holes in paper with them, but they are good on game also. Nosler, Hornadys, and most who sell Ballistic Tip Projectiles have them designed to expand rapidly and/ or fragment I've recovered a couple of Barnes over the years and wgt d them. All were from 100-95 percent orig wgt.

So can we see this pics of the deer?

Didn't take any pic's of the entry & there was no exit. Doubt you could see the entry w/a camera anyways. Didn't take a pic of the cleaning because my hands were covered in blood & I had already had to wait almost 1.5 hrs to start cleaning him due to shooting him so early & everybody else still out hunting(needed help loading him, couldn't get him in my SUV). I have a pic of his head but you can't tell how big bodied he was by that. Sorry.